Food safety

Foodborne illness costs lives and money. Millions of people become sick each year and thousands die
after eating con- taminated or mishandled foods. Children, the elderly and people with weakened immune
systems are especially vulnerable to foodborne illness.

New estimates for the cost of foodborne illness were released in 2010 and 2012. Scharff (2010; 2012)
estimated the cost of foodborne illness in the U.S. to be $152 billion and $77.7 billion, respectively.
Scharff included30 identifiable pathogens plus foodborne illnesses for which no pathogen source can be
identi- fied in his estimate, while Hoff- mann et al. (2012) estimated that illness from 14 major pathogens
that account for more than 95 percent of the illnesses, hospi- talizations and deaths in the U.S. cost $14.1
billion.

Serving safe food has numer- ous benefits. By preventing foodborne illness outbreaks, establishments can
avoid legal fees, medical claims, wasted food, bad publicity and possibly, closure of the establishment.

An outbreak occurs when two or more cases of a similar illness are caused by eating a common food.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion (2011), these are the annual statistics
related to foodborne illness in the U.S.:

• 48 million gastrointestinal illnesses

• 128,000hospitalizations • 3,000deaths

Some people are more atrisk of becoming ill from unsafe food. These populations include young children,
elderly, people with compromised immune sys- tems and pregnant women.

What makes food unsafe

Hazards can be introduced into foodservice operations in numerous ways: by employees, food,
equipment, cleaning supplies and customers. The hazards may be biological (including bacteriaand other
microorganisms), chemical (including cleaning agents) or physical (including glass chips and metal
shavings).

Microbiological hazards (bacteria in particular) are considered the greatest risk to the food industry.
Bacteria usually require Food, Acidity, Temperature, Time, Oxygen and Moisture in order to grow.
Controlling any or all of these factors can help prevent bacterial growth. Remember “FAT- TOM” and
how it relates to food safety.

Temperature and time are the two most controllable factors for preventing foodborne illness. The
temperature range between 41 F and 135 F is considered the “danger zone” because these temperatures
are very conducive to bacterial growth. Within this range, bacteria grow most rapidly from 60 F to 120 F.
When the conditions are right, bacteria double in number every 10to 30 minutes. For instance, in three
hours one bacterium can grow into thousands of bacteria. Cooking food to safe temperature and cooling
food quickly, therefore, are critical steps in the prevention of foodborne illness.

Safe food production and service

After monitoring receiving and storage for safety, it is essential to avoid cross-contamination and
temperature/time abuse during preparation, cooking, serving and cooling. Calibrated thermometers should
be used to monitor temperatures. The following guidelines illustrate safe food handling at each stage.

Preparation

• Wash hands before beginning a task and after every interruption that could contaminate hands. The
handwashing sink -- not the prep sink -- should be used.

• Avoid cross-contamination. Cross contamination occurs when harmful bacteria are transferred from one
food

to another by means of a nonfood surface, such as utensils, equipment or human hands. Cross
contamination can also occur food to

food, such as when thawing meat drips on ready-to-eat vegetables. Prevent cross contamination by
observing these recommendations:

*  Use proper handwashing procedures. If plastic gloves are worn, hands should be washed before
putting them on. Plastic gloves should be changed whenever changing tasks that could cause con-
tamination. Improperly-used plastic gloves can contami- nate foods as easily as bare hands can.

*  Use clean and sanitized utensils and cutting boards when preparing food. Clean cutting boards
thoroughly with hot soapy water, followed by a hot water rinse and a final sanitizing step (1
tablespoon bleach per gallon of water) after using.

*  Store cooked food and raw food separately.

References: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Code, 2013.